Arizona Cardinals midseason awards
By Scott Allen
Best Defensive Player
Nominees: Budda Baker, Chandler Jones, Jordan Hicks
Winner: Jones
He looks to be back to his 2017 form when he led the NFL in sacks. So far in 2019, Jones leads the team with 9.5 sacks. He had 4 sacks alone in the Cardinals victory over the New York Giants 3 weeks ago.
He was the only one to get to San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo last Thursday night as well. He appears to be more comfortable back at the linebacker position he was at 2 years ago after spending a season strictly on the defensive line.
His 11 quarterback hits also lead the team this year as well. His 4 forced fumbles are tied for the team lead as are his 3 fumble recoveries. He had a strip sack of Giants quarterback Daniel Jones and recovered his own forced fumble.
He’s on pace to finish with 16-17 sacks on the season which would be right where he finished in 2017 with 17 sacks. It also helps he has a companion in Terrell Suggs to take some of his pressure off. Suggs has 5 sacks through 9 games.